To my mind, in the last few years nobody has done more for the home brewing market in the UK than Richard at Wineworks. By championing the Still Spirits products and bringing distillation to the high street he has helped many people develop a new and rewarding interest.

I know many people on the forums have either visited Wineworks or used their mail order services, and now Richard has a new venture in Liverpool, called Love Brewing. This is the largest home brew shop in the UK, and is the only one in the area. This is such a monumental event that soon Wineworks will be changing its name to Love Brewing to reflect the fact that this hobby is about so much more than wine these days.

So, I hope you will all join me in wishing Richard all the best for his new venture and make sure you check out the website and if you’re in the area then pop in and get shopping!

I’ve seen a few articles recently where people have mentioned using Brita water filtering jugs to purify vodka, and I’ve also seen information about refilling your own Brita filter cartridges. I thought it would be a good opportunity to explore this area in a little more detail, and explain the science behind what is happening.

Can you make premium grade vodka from a cheap bottle of no-name spirit? Is it worth the effort and expense of buying the filter jug and cartridges? Is the process safe? I decided to find out whether a Brita jug has any place in the home distillers toolkit, or if it should remain the preserve of cheapskate student types and those who have too much time on their hands.

Today sees the launch of the new StillSmart discussion forums, a place to talk about anything and everything with your fellow distillers. You can access the forums by clicking the link on the far right of the menu bar at the top of the page.

Please do get involved if you can – every discussion and answered question makes this into a better resource for everyone. All are welcome, from seasoned distillers to absolute beginners – don’t be shy about saying hello and asking questions, that’s the best way to learn.

If you have a Gravatar set up, your image will be displayed next to your posts in the forums, on this site and any other which is Gravatar enabled.

One more thing – when you register for the forums, your login will also work for leaving comments on the main site – this saves you having to log in twice. Aren’t I nice to you all?

Let me know what you think, or if you find anything that you think might be a bug – and enjoy the forums!

In home distillation circles, the accepted practice is to construct your own still, either from a published design or from scratch using your own ingenuity. There are some places that will sell you a ready made column or a complete still, giving similar results for those without the required metalworking skills. The whole scene is full of interesting and varied approaches to making and distilling alcohol. However, there is a tendency to look down upon the SmartStill, but why is this?

We get a lot of people hitting this site from the search engines with queries such as ‘How do I make alcohol with my SmartStill?’. The short answer is that you can’t. But don’t despair! The good news is, you don’t actually need to. To understand why, you need to understand the process of alcohol distillation – here is a guide that tells you everything you need to know to make spirits with your SmartStill or EasyStill.

StillCooker is a site about building your own still and producing your own alcohol. It has some great pictures of various types of still, information about building your own, how to make a moonshine wash, safety tips, and lots more useful information – check it out!

Here you’ll find liquor and liqueur essences, candy shots, turbo yeasts and supplies for distilleries, home distillers and home brewers. Our goal is to produce the worlds best essences and turbo yeasts and to sell only top quality. Our assortment of essences is the world’s largest and the same top quality we sell to distilleries. You can also get the best activated carbons, Rashig rings, supplies and German glass instruments here.

We gladly share our 27 years of knowledge. Many inventions in this field (like Turbo Yeast) originate with us. Read about Turbo Yeast. Learn more than some competing turbo yeast manufacturers. Learn our new method for using activated carbon with 100-150% better results – only by knowing how and why to use the activated carbon in this new way. Learn everything about the hydrometer – with illustrations.